Day 6 sees our cyclists head north towards Liverpool and Manchester.
They leave Telford and a mere 6 km into their trek, they pass their first main settlement of the
day, Oakengates. Oakengates streches all the way back to the early Roman era. Hopefully our cyclists won't be put off too
much by straight roads. Oakengates also provided a substantial amount of the raw materials required for the success of the
industrial revolution. Oakengates has a couple of attractions, namely the 'Feel the Beat Line Dancing' festival, held at the
Oakengates Theatre annually which draws many crowds. Two most famous who grew up here were Johnny Hancocks - one of Wolves
and England's greatest players and the jockey Sir Gordon Richards.
The B5061 takes them out of Oakengates and eventually takes them onto the A518. The A518 leads them
through Edgmond, becoming the A41, into Hinstock.A number of A5 roads takes them into Nantwich, passing Market Drayton in
the process.
Nantwich is situated 5 minutes from Crewe on England's west coast. This area has just under 120,000
residents and covers 160 square miles of land. It also caters well for the influx of tourism per annum, of which of course
Thomas and Andrena will be two. A recently refurbished civil hall, Lyceum Theatre and the Crewe Carnival are to name but a
few.
They then take the B5074, passing by Winsford, and afterwards, Cuddington. Winsford is located in
the heart of rural Cheshire. The town developed, thanks to large salt deposits which were and still are easy to mine. It has
somewhere in the region of 33,000 inhabitants. Early growth came as a result of overspill in the 1960s but recent growth has
came about naturally due to its increasing employment opportunities and low comparative house prices. Historically, Winsford
was a thriving fishing village which lead to great shipbuilding in the late 19th century. The SS Monach being the biggest
built here in 1890. Nowadays, a declining Victorian town has paved the way for one of the most modern and pleasant industrial
and residential sites of its kind in the northwest. An impressive industrial estate was pioneered by the Urban District Council
to bring about a new life to the town.
After passing Winsford and Cuddington, they follow the A49, taking them into Warrington.
